What is online accounting?

Online accounting or E- accounting, is the application of online and Internet technologies to the business accounting function. Similar to e-mail being an electronic version of traditional mail, online accounting is “electronic enablement” of lawful accounting and traceable accounting processes which were traditionally manual and paper-based.Online VAT Accounting Software with best security features is explained below

Online accounting involves performing regular accounting functions, accounting research and the accounting training and education through various computer based /internet based accounting tools such as digital tool kits, various internet resources, international web-based materials, institute and company databases which are internet based, web links, internet based accounting software and electronic financial spreadsheet tools to provide efficient decision making.

Online accounting through a web application is typically based on a simple monthly charge and zero-administration approach to help businesses concentrate on core activities and avoid the hidden costs associated with traditional accounting software such as installation, upgrades, exchanging data files, backup and disaster recovery.

Online accounting does not have a standard definition but refers to the changes in accounting due to computing and networking technologies. Most online accounting services are offered as SaaS (Software-as-a-service).Online Accounting software  uses cloud based technology. Online VAT Accounting Software with best security features are explained below.

Businesses are increasingly opting to use cloud-based services and software to meet their business needs. Rather than purchasing software, businesses are logging in and accessing the software on the internet

These services are a form of cloud computing. They perform the job of traditional accounting software, but work over the internet. Therefore online accounting software right for your business.

Reach Online VAT Accounting Software with best security features. Explained

Businesses are migrating to cloud-based accounting in increasing numbers, seeing it as a viable solution to more limited and tedious hardware-based accounting programs. Cloud storage provides account access by authorized personnel at all times from any connected device, instantaneous updates and real-time financial data on demand.

Cloud-based data storage is the ideal fit for business owners who prefer to keep their operations lean and agile. Checking on daily income while on the move is a quick and simple smartphone task. However, some CEOs are reluctant considering  the prospect of storing sensitive financial data online .

The Basis for Cloud-Based Security Concerns

Some of the primary concerns people have about entrusting their books to the cloud include:

• Data theft via hacking or hardware hijacking
• Data alteration or corruption by inexperienced personnel
• Data loss due to cloud instability
• Data loss when a cloud-based company quits business

Not every cloud-based application has tight security to say the least Although some cloud-based accounting systems are safer than others, you always run a slight risk when it comes to working online. That is why it’s important to rely on an accounting services provider who has the expertise to select the right accounting systems with the best security available to keep your online business data virtually secure.

Need to Switch to Reach Online VAT Accounting Software with best security features.

Reach Accountant goes the extra mile to keep your financial data safe. Through a combination of document encryption, user authentication and authorization, Reach cloud-based accounting services provide a level of protection similar to your online banking institution. Here’s how the leading cloud-based accounting software company keeps your information private and confidential.

Reach Accountant Online VAT Accounting Software with best security features

Overview

Our Security Policy and commitment

We understand the sensitivity and importance of the security of your data and information. Our security policy is one of our guiding principles of our core values.

• Commitment to confidentiality of information
• Continual check and internal control on safety of information
• Non disclosure of work and process models of client companies
• Restricted access to important information

Protect your data with multiple layers of security

Cloud accounting platforms, such as Reach online accounting, is for years and provide an established and exceptionally secure environment to run your accounting function.

Reach Accountant Online VAT Accounting Software encrypts your business information and replicates it in several locations online. This means that it’s safe, secure and available when you need it.

• Accounts are accessible anywhere, anytime– when you manage your financials online, you have access to your accounts and key numbers wherever you are. Just find an internet connection and log in to your accounts with highly secure password protection and encryption.
• Data is held on highly secure cloud servers– all your accounting data is encrypted using the industry-standard TLS (Transport Layer Standard) encryption technology and data is spread across multiple data centres to make it even less prone to malicious hacks.
• You’re always using the latest version– when you log into an online accounting application, you’re always using the most current version of the software. There are no updates to action, no fixes to install and all your security settings are 100% up to date and geared for any known threats.
• Your accounts are protected by Quality grade security– rather than your accounts being sat on a server in your office, or on an easily stolen laptop, your data is backed up automatically to cloud servers with true military grade protection – both online and on the ground at the server locations.

Your information is stored safely online :If your computer or laptop is lost, stolen or broken, your account is backed up and protected online in the cloud. Reach’s online storage means you can log in from any device with an internet connection and you’re good to go.

Reach Accountant Online VAT Accounting Software with best security features.

Features elaborated

User Restriction and authentication

No one has access to your organization’s data unless you invite them into your account. You control what users can see and do in Reach. In Simple term it means As a Reach customer you have the flexibility to invite unlimited users into your account to collaborate on your data, and the person that holds the subscription has control over who has access and what they are able to do, only the company employee having the  prior approval and valid user Id –password from company’s authorized staff can log in to company’s account .Otherwise the information and data is highly safe and restricted where nobody can view the details of the company. We provide standard access to the Reach software through a login and password .Our customer support staff cannot access your information unless you invite them to help.

IP Based OTP protection

Extra security at log in

Two-step authentication adds an extra layer of security to help protect your account. Each time you log in, you’ll need to enter a unique code generated by an app on your smartphone.

This provides a second level of security for your  account. It means you’re also asked to enter a unique code generated by a separate authenticator app on your smartphone.Reach Security features  IP based OTP protection ensures that the PCs accessing your data are those assigned to your employees.If the systems which use the IP address  outside the office premises pops out One Time Password to the authorized staff of the company alerting them that company account is been tried  to be accessed by particular staff,only upon approval and sharing of the OTP particular staff trying to access company account can log in thus use two-step authentication reduces the risk of your Reach account being accessed outside office premise.

Time based OTP Protection

Reach also offers the Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP) tool in CloudAccess  account of the client .With two-factor authentication, users must provide two categories of authentication factors before they can access the applications. The authentication factors used by the TOTP tool are:

• Something the user knows:The first authentication factor requires something the user knows, such as the password for the user’s single-sign-on user name.
• Something the user has:The second authentication factor requires something the user has, such as a mobile device to generate time-based one-time passwords.

Reach goes one step ahead to ensure double security of data that is been tried to access after  office  hours. For Instance ABC Company having an Online Account with Reach works from 9.AM to 6P.M. During the business hours company employees directly get OTP on their mobile for login into company’s online account. If the company staff tries to log in after business hours the OTP gets generated at the mobile device of the online account subscriber. Only if the account subscriber shares the OTP can the user trying to access  company’s online account can log in.

256 bit encryption

256-bit encryption refers to the length of the encryption key used to encrypt a data stream or file. A hacker or cracker will require 2²⁵⁶different combinations to break a 256-bit encrypted message, which is virtually impossible to be broken by even the fastest computers.

Typically, 256-bit encryption is used for data in transit, or data traveling over a network or Internet connection. This is the same level of encryption used by leading banks and government agencies.It is also implemented for sensitive and important data such as financial, military or government-owned data.

We encrypt all data that goes between you and Reach using industry-standard TLS (Transport Layer Security), protecting your personal and financial data. Your data is also encrypted at rest when it is stored on our servers, and encrypted when we transfer it between data centres for backup and replication.Your information is converted into unrecognisable code using industry standard data encryption. Reach stores your data securely – and you control who has access.

Bank Level Security

Reach takes security seriously. By utilizing TLS encryption and world-class secure server infrastructure, Reach keeps your documents private and secure. The concept used by many internet banking and online services, two-step authentication makes it much harder for anyone to hack into your account.

Auto-email backup

For many companies, email backup is nearly as important as backing up documents and information. Yet it’s often not as easy. And if you have more than one account, backup can quickly get out of hand, particularly if you need to find some particular message(s).Reach provides Backup all your email messages from multiple applications and accounts. Lightning-fast search, one-click backup, powerful export.

AWS Servers Network protection

Reach takes a “protection in depth” approach to protect our systems and your data. Multiple layers of security controls protect access to and within our environment, including firewalls, intrusion protection systems and network segregation. Reach’s security services are configured, monitored and maintained according to industry best practice. Reach’s servers are located within enterprise-grade hosting facilities that employ robust physical security controls to prevent physical access to the servers they house. These controls include 24/7/365 monitoring and surveillance, on-site security staff and regular ongoing security audits. Reach maintains multiple geographically separated data replicas and hosting environments to minimise the risk of data loss or outages. Reach’s Security team continuously monitors security systems, event logs, notifications and alerts from all systems to identify and manage threats.It has instituted numerous security measures in the interest of protecting clients’ data, including:

• Extended Validation (EV) SSL
• Firewalls
• Secure storage facility
• Encryption of all sensitive data in database
• Continuous off-site backup to eliminate data loss.

Security assurance

Best in class availability

With a record of 99.97% uptime, Reach delivers best-in-class availability. We use multiple redundancy technologies for our hardware, networks, data centres and infrastructure. These ensure that if any component fails, Reach will keep on running – with little or no disruption to your service.

Built to perform at scale

Reach has been designed to grow with your business. Our high performance servers, networks and infrastructure ensure we can deliver quality service to you and our hundreds of thousands of other users.

Disaster recovery and readiness Program

Reach performs real-time data replication between our geographically diverse, protected facilities, to ensure your data is available and safely stored. This means that should even an unlikely event occur, such as an entire hosting facility failure, we can switch over quickly to a backup site to keep Reach and your business running. We transmit data securely, across encrypted links at the frequency of three hours.

Constant updates and innovation

We’re constantly enhancing Reach, delivering new features and performance improvements. Updates are delivered frequently, with the majority of them being delivered without interrupting our service and disrupting users.

Be A Safe Business

We design security into Reach from the inception. However, there can be risks to working and playing online. Whether you’re shopping, banking, doing your accounts, or simply checking your email, cyber criminals and scammers are always looking for ways to steal money or sensitive information.

There are precautions you can take to reduce the risks and help keep you safe from harm online. Take a few minutes to read our introduction to cloud security, and see below for information about how to identify and deal with scams and malicious ‘phishing’ emails.

Phishing and malicious emails

A phishing email is a favoured way for cyber criminals to get access to your sensitive

information, such as your usernames and passwords, credit card details, bank account numbers, etc. This kind of email may look as if it has come from a trustworthy source, but will attempt to trick you into:

• clicking on a link that will infect your computer with malicious software
• following a link to a fake (but convincing looking) website that will steal your login details
• opening an attachment that will infect your computer.

Once you are hooked, the cyber criminal may be able to steal or extort money from you, or gather sensitive personal or business information that they can use for other attacks. However, you can protect yourself and your business by being aware of these scams, and by knowing what to look for that may help you identify a malicious email:

• Incorrect spelling or grammar: legitimate organisations don’t always get it 100% right, but be suspicious of emails with basic errors.
• The actual linked URL is different from the one displayed – hover your mouse over any links in an email (DON’T CLICK) to see if the actual URL is different.
• The email asks for personal information that they should already have, or information that isn’t relevant to your business with them.
• The email calls for urgent action. For example, “Your bank account will be closed if you don’t respond right away”. If you are not sure and want to check, then go directly to the bank’s website via the URL you would normally use, or phone them. Don’t click on the link in the email. The email says you’ve won a competition you didn’t enter, have a parcel waiting that you didn’t order, or promises huge rewards for your help. On the internet, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably isn’t true.
• There are changes to how information is usually presented, for example an email is addressed to “Dear Sirs” or “Hello” instead of to you by name, the sending email address looks different or complex, or the content is not what you would usually expect.

These are just a few of the things to watch out for. There’s a lot more information and tips available on the web. But even if there’s nothing specific you can point to, the email may just not “feel” right. Trust your instincts, and don’t get hooked.

If you suspect you’ve received a phishing or malicious email, and it says it’s from Reach or uses Reach’s logo, do not click on anything in the email – please report it to our support service centre.

Try to avoid a phishing attack by following these rules

If you receive a suspicious email make sure you:

1. DO NOT CLICK on any link or attachment contained in the email.
2. DO NOT REPLY to the email.
3. Report the email by forwarding it to our support service centre if it is Reach-branded.
4. Delete the email.
5. Update your anti-malware (anti-virus, anti-spyware) and run a full scan on your computer.

Security Combined With Incredible Business Benefits

Ultimately, your decision comes down to how much value you place on the benefits of using online accounting, versus how comfortable you are as a business with your data being stored online in the cloud. In our opinion, as cloud-accounting specialists and huge advocates of an online way of working, there’s really no competition. The cloud is where business is headed, and it’s time to embrace the benefits.

And for an increasing number of business owners, the list of advantages clearly outweighs any potential worries around cloud data storage:

• You get 24/7 access to your numbers wherever there’s an internet connection, making collaboration a real breeze and giving you the perfect accounting solution for your small business
• There’s no need for time-consuming back-ups, expensive office servers or costly IT support.
• You have integration and data-sharing between an ever-growing ecosystem of cloud systems and online tools
• You have absolute control over who accesses your accounts, and what access privileges these people are granted.
• Cloud providers are extremely vigilant about data security and take every possible precaution to safeguard your online accounts.

Reach Cloud based service provider  know that online security is an absolute must for business owners, and the makers of cloud accounting software are incredibly proactive about updating their solutions to make the security watertight.

If you want current, actionable data where your financials are actually use able instruments, rather than a compliance necessity, you should be seriously considering moving your business to online accounting.

We’re great believers in the efficiency and integration that cloud systems offer to driven, aspirational business owners. We’ll help you switch to an online accounting system, link to the most practical choices of cloud tools and will provide the best possible way to run and manage your enterprise.